Nvidia's RTX 4070 graphics card has been flying under the radar of late, with all the attention focused on the 4070 Ti, which is supposedly about to launch, but now we've seen spec leaks for the model from a lower level.
Unfortunately, at first glance it's not good news, because according to leaker Kopite7kimi, a regular presence on Twitter when it comes to GPU spills, the RTX 4070 will be significantly discounted compared to the RTX 4070 Ti.
Some RTX 4070 updates: PG141-SKU336/337AD104-250-A15888FP3212G 21 Gbps GDDR6X36M L2250W Dec 9, 2022
Read more
At least when it comes to CUDA cores anyway, because as you can see, the RTX 4070 is supposed to run with 5,888 cores, a pretty old drop compared to the maximum AD104 GPU load that 4070 cards are based on. , which is 7,680 cores (the 4070 Ti is rumored to boast).
Also, keep in mind that this figure for the RTX 4070 matches the RTX 3070 which has 5888 cores, though keep in mind that architectural advances and other specs (like clock speeds) mean that a 4070 set up like this leak count will always be much higher. fast (there's no way Nvidia has it any other way, of course).
The best news is that while past speculation pointed to an RTX 4070 with 10GB of VRAM - a prospect that has generated much bitterness in GPU-related discussions online - of course, this leak pegs a 12GB payload. on the 4070. They also have a 192-bit memory bus, which is nice to hear since lower bandwidths have been talked about in the past.
Analysis: more or less strong, prices will be decisive
What we've also heard in the past is that Nvidia has struggled trying to figure out where to launch the RTX 4070 and whether to offer a weaker or stronger offering in this midrange (or upper midrange) category. , we assume).
The theory that Moore's Law died a few months ago is that Team Green was waiting to see how powerful the RDNA 3 cards are before deciding on a final specification, and indeed that wait may continue; well, there's a pretty strong indication that AMD is taking aim squarely. on the RTX 4080 with its flagship RX 7900 XTX.
In other words, perhaps Nvidia now feels confident enough to make the decision to go with a slightly weaker RTX 4070 with far fewer CUDA cores than the 4070 Ti. It's a leap, of course, and we shouldn't get too carried away with it, but this rumor suggests that Nvidia isn't doing everything it can to make the RTX 4070 a graphics card that comes close to the Ti variant.
Even if it's clear, as we remember all the time, the other specifications have the functions of the RTX 4070, 12 Go of VRAM and a 192-bit bus, corresponding to the 4070 Ti (disclosed specifications, this is -to say). So even if hearts are brutally cut out, the jury is still out on performance, up to a point. And it's also possible that a slightly less capable graphics card could be in line for a much cheaper price than the RTX 4070 Ti, which could be a good relative value proposition.
However, given Nvidia's current shape, we think competitive pricing is an unlikely prospect, with all those RTX 3000 cards still on sale. This rumor has caused a lot of doom and gloom about the RTX 4070 online, and we fully understand why, but the key will really be the price/performance ratio and how much Nvidia charges for the power of this GPU. Unfortunately, we lean towards the bearish point of view here and are not holding our breath for a good result at this point.
Perhaps the only thing that could change that is if the RTX 4070 Ti is priced right, after a price cut on the RTX 4080 is a possibility. In that case, perhaps the RTX 4070 could be reasonably priced…
Watch this space, and of course the other obvious question is: how much of a lag will there be between the 4070 Ti and the 4070? Since the first one is supposed to launch in January, will the base RTX 4070 also launch next month? Given that this may seem unlikely under the radar, and previously announced release dates such as March 2023 could be more profitable for the RTX 4070 (again, particularly if Nvidia needs more time to sell via RTX the 3000 shares remaining).
Today's best graphics card deals
Via VideoCardz (Opens in a new tab)